I’m calling this post the Get Your PHX Find for September 2017. I like this idea. Maybe I’ll do it more often –its an excuse to eat tasty food and they write about it.

I’m not sure that I’ll find a great new spot like this every month, but I’ve got one for this month!

Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you about this Get Your PHX Find for a few months. Novel Ice Cream impressed me right away. Not only are they serving unique and well-made ice cream downtown, but they regularly have lines –despite having done NO advertising!

For the past six months Novel Ice Cream has been serving up ice cream stuffed donuts in the form of their signature Dough Melts from a little red cottage in the Grand Avenue Arts District. Boasting 12 unique flavors of small batch handcrafted artisan ice creams, retro cereal toppings, and craft glass bottle sodas by local supplier Pop the Soda Shop, all served in a colorful and quirky space featuring mural art by local artist Joe Gonzalez. Given its fun and decidedly  different take on a dessert staple, Novel isn’t your typical ice cream spot… which is exactly why it fits in perfectly among the buildings on Grand canvassed in some of the most unique art in Phoenix.

Since opening in March, Novel has experienced firsthand our city’s love for the homegrown small businesses that are shaping local food and art culture by bringing high quality, unique items to Phoenix’s burgeoning food scene. This positive reception culminated in Novel being named the 13th Best Ice Cream Sandwich Shop in America by BuzzFeed and Yelp in July.

Owner/operators Brandon and Jennifer Douglas love the fact that Novel not only serves as an outlet for sharing their obsession with ice cream, donuts, cereal, and soda with their customers, but also love that their shop continues to bring people from all over the metro area (and all over the state) to Historic Grand. In addition to Novel, the Grand Avenue Historic district is home to several other well established and unquestionably unique food stops such as ThirdSpace, Grand Avenue Pizza, and Treehouse Bakery. All of which have embraced the community’s well known art-centric history. Many believe the recent influx of creative start ups making the downtown section of Grand Avenue their home mean it is primed to continue its path to becoming a major hub for exceptional food and art culture in our state.

Novel Ice Cream is located at 1028 Grand Ave #6 on the Southwest corner of 11th Ave. and Grand in the Red Cottage behind ThirdSpace. Their hours are Tuesday-Thursday 12pm-10pm, Friday & Saturday 12pm-1am, and Sundays 12pm-5pm, Closed on Mondays.

5341 N. Seventh Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
(602) 265-3604

Several months ago we tried Two Hippies tacos and dug it. The amount of food for the price was great, and the same is almost much true for the pizzeria they opened up on 7th Ave.  For less than $8 you can get a decent sized pie that is made fresh in about ten minutes.  Given my recent re-conversion to vegetarianism, I went with the white pizza that had only vegetables and cheese while my companion tried something with meat.  Her feelings were as mixed as mine.

This is more like a Chicago-style pizza, rather than a Sicilian –more dough, more cheese.  The dough was a little doughy, but not enough to prevent me from eating it.  Holy Toledo was there a lot of cheese, though.  Who doesn’t love cheese?

The décor and style is in keeping with the other spots, including limited outdoor space consisting of a couple of bar stools.  The gentleman behind the counter was pleasant but a bit spacey.  That seems par for the course for Two Hippies, and maybe even part of the employee training.

The Good: A lot of food delivered quickly and cheaply

The Bad: Order it to go unless you plan to stand and eat over your hand like as if you’re at an awkward break-room party for a coworker’s birthday.

The Ugly: They can’t make room for tables or chairs, but they manage to squeeze an ATM into the tiny reception area?  Cash only!  Really, Two Hippies?  REALLY?  This is America.  We buy M&M’s on credit, for crying out loud!

My friend Tazmine Loomans has a great website that I look at when thinking about where to eat.

She has done a great review of Sapna, on Grand. I did a review a few months ago, but this one goes in to much greater detail.

It is worth a look. Sapna is also worth trying out, especially now that it is cool outside and they don’t have a problem cooling the place.

My friend and architect Tazmine Loomans has a blog where she highlights restaurants that feature sustainable food choices.

Locally-grown, organic even proximity to public transport.

She has a whole new list of restaurants and coffee bars. Some are in Phoenix and some are not. Regardless, it is a pretty good guide and a good place to check in for ideas.

Which makes me think, perhaps we need a U.S. Green Building Council certification for restaurants.

That is a totally geeky idea and very “insider” if you don’t know that the USGBC certifies new and existing buildings as “green” if they do a number of things, including installing better insulation, solar panels and features that support people who use mass transit. They even give credits for reusing waste created when you build the building or tear down an existing structure.

How would your favorite restaurant fare if measured up against a U.S. Green Eating Council?

St. Francis
111 E Camelback Rd

I tried St. Francis almost a month ago and I’m so sorry that I could not get a review up on GetYourPHX.com sooner. This is a great addition to Phoenix’s food scene.

The night we went, it felt as if the summer had broken. There was a cool breeze; not heard from since April. Long-ago forgotten, like the Pleistocene.  It tickled its way in through St. Francis’ huge open facade and in to the dining room.

The open-air bar at the front of St. Francis framed the darkening mountains to the north of the restaurant for me, as if planned that way.

The food was delicate and nuanced in the case of the forbidden rice and vegetables. The fingerling rosemary potatoes were bold and undaunted. The fig and goat cheese flat bread swirled on my tongue.

The potatoes were Bruce Springsteen to the vegetables’ London Philharmonic and the flatbread’s Grateful Dead.

The staff were quick, professional and quite enthused about their new home. They walked with a tilted briskness that you’d expect to see in old New Yorker etchings from the 1930s.

I hope to visit again soon.

The Good: The restaurant was comfortable, yet sharp and clean.

The Bad: Am I just getting older and cheaper, or does everything just seem more expensive to me these days?

The Ugly: I hate valet parking. Just gotta say it.

The Parlor
1916 E. Camelback Road

I admit it. I have a crush on The Parlor. I’ve been three times since it opened early last month.

You know, The Parlor proves that you can put almost anything on pizza and have a hit if the crust is good. I had the Yukon Gold once, which was pizza with potatoes and an egg right in the middle. I also tried the truffle oil and mushroom pizza and the sausage pizza. All incredible.

Perhaps my review is not complete. I never tried their salads or other nosh. But I’m a pizza snob. So sue me.

Still, the ambiance is fantastic and the service was good, with the exception of one waiter who seemed to forget we were there once. I look forward to cooler days when I can sit out on the patio area among the fresh growing vegetables that they actually use in the restaurant.

Much of the internal décor came from reclaimed wood and metal from the short-lived Bahama Breeze, which was torn down across the street. Kudos for the re-use. However, I do respect the criticism that The Parlor looks way too much like The Vig, just with pizza.

The Good: Sitting at the bar, watching the pizza being made in the stone oven.

The Bad: The Parking

The Ugly:  None

1301 NW Grand Avenue

I remember walking along Grand Ave. years ago when I saw the corner property that is now Sapna Cafe. It was an oddly shaped space, just a cake slice of a building. I figured it would be perfect for a little coffee bar or restaurant.

I have not heard much talk on the street about Sapna, although it’s been open for three months. After trying it, I really want to give it a better review than I can (at least for right now).

I went three. Once just to test out the coffee and Wifi and the twice to grab a sandwich. The Wifi did not work. The shape and orientation of the building with it’s tall windowed sides meant that the only time the sun was not over-heating the restaurant was the three hours it was directly overhead.

They couldn’t do much to cool the place, despite extra fans.

The staff were all pleasant and conversational. But from what I had on my first visit, the food was not what I expected. Sapna was given its name from a nickname that owner Ana Borrajo was given while traveling overseas.

I had a chicken panini and a salad. The salad dressing was quite unique, but the panini was nothing to write home about.

However, the second visit -for lunch- helped me see the light. I had the pasta with ratatouille. It was unique and flavorful.

I also want to encourage you to support a little restaurant that is taking a chance on Grand Ave., despite the unfortunate solar heating features.

The Good: Aesthetically a really cool place to eat. Go for the non-traditional items over the sandwiches.

The Bad: It’s bloody hot outside!

The Ugly: East and west-facing windows in a little space make for a warm experience!

4700 North Central Ave.

The founder of Lux and Lola Tapas, Daniel Wayne, has re-entered the coffee trade (he sold Lux several years ago).

The new Lola Café is just north of Lux at Highland and Central. I can’t figure out why he is so close to Lux and why he did not start this new venture near my office. Clearly, he forgot the rule about checking with Ken before making major business decisions.

Daniel made a breakthrough in coffee when he opened Lux 8 years ago. He made a cup of coffee which had a high level of craftsmanship to it. You simply could not find that downtown back then. He put a lot of thought in to what goes in to his drinks, for instance Ghirardelli chocolate and whipped cream made on the spot with vanilla and a shot of espresso.

Lola Café has everything that Lux used to have: great coffee, fantastic atmosphere, incredible pastries, etc. Not that Lux doesn’t have that, but the drawback to Lux nowadays is the crowd and the noise.

So, until Lola Café gets to be as crowded as Lux (I give them two weeks), I may favor Lola over Lux for meetings, work and the odd occasional book reading.

The Good: The consistently incredible coffee and food.

The Bad: Not too far in the future, it will be too crowded and noisy for this old curmudgeon.

The Ugly:  None

501 E. Camelback Rd.

Two Hippies is not new. People have been raving about it since late last year. But I never got around to reviewing it.

Folks, this is some of the best recession food you can find. Get a Taco 3-pack for $5 or a massive burrito for $5. My three pack always includes the pork and the chicken. The third varies. Regardless, you never go hungry.

It is getting a little hot to sit outside and eat now -no indoor seating. However there are enough misters around the patio to sink the USS Ronald Reagan and they’ve done a good job of hiding their customers from the sun.

The place is a lot of fun, too. It’s plastered with every kind of odd, eclectic sign, poster post card and plastic Kewpie doll you can imagine. It’s Jimmy Buffett meets, er, eh,…Jimmy Buffett.

The Good: Cheap, good, filling!

The Bad: It’s bloody hot outside!

The Ugly:  none